After Sitting Out 2018, Pagano Could Jump Back In As Bears' Defensive Coordinator

SportsMoney
I live and work in Chicago, where I’ve covered sports since 1997.

Chuck Pagano, who led the Indianapolis Colts to three 11-win seasons, could bring a lot of experience to the Bears as a replacement for Vic Fangio. He reportedly was interviewing Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The NFL’s best defense is searching for a new coach to call signals, and former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano is emerging as a strong candidate.

Internal candidate Ed Donatell, who was the Bears’ defensive backs coach last season, is the most apparent candidate but there’s a school of thought that says Pagano is the frontrunner to replace Vic Fangio, who has been hired to be the Broncos’ head coach. The Bears were interviewing Pagano on Friday, sources told the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs.

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The Bears could make a hire soon. But while teams were rushing around to fill vacancies on the coaching staff this week, NFL insider Peter King — the long-time Sports Illustrated writer — preached a more thorough approach.

Tweeted King on Wednesday: “I do not understand the sprint to hire coaches. Seven (head) coaches hired in 50 hours. One name to remember: Frank Reich. Hired 42 days after the end of the 2017 regular season.’’

In another tweet, King wrote: “The most overrated point about hiring a coach late is that he won’t be able to build a good staff. History has proven it’s bunk’’

The Bears did interview Donatell on Wednesday and may have to make a decision on him sooner rather than later. His contract with the Bears is ending and it’s possible that Fangio will want him on his staff in Denver.

Promoting Donatell is the easiest option as he would retain not just Fangio’s 3-4 scheme but likely the entire playbook and the rest of the coaching staff. But the Bears might want to ask why Donatell was a coordinator with two NFL teams more than a decade ago but hasn’t had another chance to make calls.

The Bears are clearly intrigued by Pagano, who sat out this season after being fired following the Colts’ 4-12 season in 2017.

Pagano’s Indianapolis teams won 11 games in three consecutive seasons, including a remarkable run in 2012 when offensive coordinator Bruce Arians stepped in as head coach for 12 games while Pagano underwent treatment for with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

The 58-year-old Pagano has interviewed with the Carolina Panthers, who have a vacancy for a secondary coach, and has reportedly received interest from the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns, who are seeking defensive coordinators.

No team can offer a coach what the Bears can. That is, the chance to work with the NFL’s No. 1 defense, built around All-Pros Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Jackson and Kyle Fuller.

The defensive personnel is likely to stay largely unchanged for next seasons, with youngsters like Roquan Smith and Leonard Floyd expected to continue their development. Safety Adrian Amos Jr. and nickel back Bryce Callahan are the only free agents of consequence, and could return.

While Eddie Goldman plays nose tackle in the 3-4 for the Bears, a breakdown of the Bears’ defense shows he’s in that position less than half the time. With nickel packages and other substitutions, the Bears spend a lot of time in formations that would be considered 4-3.

It’s possible other candidates could become available as teams are eliminated this weekend and in coming weeks. The priority for the Bears is making the right hire, not a quick hire.